


Bent Not Broken

by nnooorraa



Category: Green Creek Series - T.J. Klune
Genre: F/F, I forgot how to properly tag these things tbh, M/M, also gordo and mark are together in this u can all fight me, things just go a little differently in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 12:06:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18141971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nnooorraa/pseuds/nnooorraa
Summary: What if Ox had moved away just before the Bennetts returned? How different would the lives of everyone involved be? Would Ox and Joe ever meet?





	Bent Not Broken

**Author's Note:**

> hello this fic has been in my drafts for like 32947892 years now so I'm just going to post it! 
> 
> A few trigger warnings: sexual abuse, non con (in the past), torture, I don't know everything that you can find for the original books!!

Joe Bennett is eight years old when he gets taken from his front garden by a monster. It takes his family eight weeks to find him, and when they do he is battered and broken and will not speak. 

-

There are men at the house. They are there for Joe’s father, trying to convince him to take back his position as their leader. When his father denies them they grow loud and slam their fists on the table, but Joe’s father will not budge to their will. 

He says, “My family needs time to heal.”  
He says, “My son’s well being is the only thing of importance to me.”  
He says, “I will come back when the time is right and not a day before.” 

When they finally leave, the house turns from violet to blue and green. 

-

They caught the monster and locked him away, but that does nothing against the nightmares. 

-

Joe has two older brothers who look just like him, with the same blond head of hair and blue eyes. 

The oldest brother is called Carter. He is strong and bold and funny and the first one to make Joe laugh after all that had happened. The werewolf joke is quite lame, but Carter tells it another three times just to see his brother’s smile. 

The second brother’s name is Kelly. He is quieter but just as bold, and smarter than any of them. When the nightmares get bad he reads to Joe; stories where heroes conquer the monsters every single time. 

Together they help Joe feel safe and loved, and even though they are not enough to heal all of his cracks and dents and bruises they do _help_. 

-

Joe turns nine and his friends and family sing for him. They bring him presents and eat cake and the house is so green it’s infectious. 

His friends don’t mind that the only way he communicates is through bonds and colors and signs. They don’t mind as long as they can play together. 

It’s moments like these, when they’re playing tag in the clearing under the watchful eye of their parents that just for a little moment Joe is okay. 

-

She says, “You are my son and will always be, no matter how long it takes for you to heal.”  
She says, “It might not be now, but sometime in the future you will find your voice again.”  
She says, “We are your parents, your family, your pack and we are proud of you.” 

-

Joe decides early on that he _hates_ therapy. 

The woman smells like wet earth and worms. Her hair is always up in a bun that looks like it could snap at any second. Her name is Susan or something and Joe really doesn’t like her at all. 

She always asks him the same three questions at the start and end of their session. It’s always “How are you?” and “What did you eat today?” and “What did you do this week?” She then gives him an expectant look, as if maybe by some miracle he will actually answer this time. 

The rest of the session she makes him draw and calls it art therapy. So far she has asked him to draw how his week went, his favorite memory, himself (a particular bad session where she made him use colors to describe what he was feeling where), his family, the monster…

Joe isn’t quite sure she has any idea what she’s doing, but he heard his dad on the phone say she was the best child therapist they could find so she must know something. 

After three more sessions he decides that maybe werewolf and human children are just too different for it to work. 

\- 

Joe turns ten and the nightmares get worse. 

The dreams are always similar. The monster slides out of the dark and grabs Joe, or his mom, or his dad, or one of his brothers. 

It’s like he’s stuck on a ceiling, glued in place while he’s forced to watch as the monster rips him and his family to shreds.

The monster is never silent.

He says, “You are worthless.”  
He says, “It’s your fault they are in pain.”  
He says, “You are too weak to become an alpha.”  
He says, “Your family will never love you. They just pretend.”

A terrible part of Joe always believes him, even when he’s surrounded by _warmth_ and _son_ and _love_ and _pack_ as they huddle around him after he woke them up with his screaming. 

\- 

Joe’s dad decides it’s time for them to go home. He says a change of scenery will do them good.

Home is a dying town called Green Creek in the middle of the Cascade Mountains that Joe has no memories of, as he wasn’t even born when they left. He has never stepped foot on Bennett territory, but as soon as they cross the border between _here_ and _there_ he feels it with a pang. 

This is _home_. This is _theirs_. There is magic in these woods that has been tied to the Bennett line for centuries and even with all his broken pieces Joe can still feel it. 

It’s so green. 

\- 

There is a house at the start of the dirt road leading to the Bennett’s house that’s empty. Joe’s mom says it’s Bennett property. A guest house for when they have important visitors or for when their pack will grow again. 

The house pulls Joe in. It’s blue and has a white trim, the paint peeling off on all sides. The front door is open and as he steps inside the empty living room he gets overwhelmed by the smell of… something. 

It’s candy canes and pinecones, and epic and awesome. It’s fading, too, that amazing smell that’s still clinging to the walls stubbornly anyway. Whatever caused it hasn’t been there for months. 

He plans to ask his parents about it later, but can’t find the words. 

-

His dad takes him on a walk in the forest every week. Joe listens to his dad talk and talk and talk, while they move through the woods, touching every tree in their path. 

His dad explains what it means to be an alpha. He teaches him what responsibilities he will have when he leads his pack in the future. He helps him calm down the monster that Joe is afraid lurks inside.

-

Joe is eleven and he has never been so bored in his life. His mother gives him a knowing smile as he dramatically drapes himself over the kitchen table. Today’s lesson is on maths and Joe is not a fan. 

His uncle Mark ruffles his hair and says, “Come on kid, it’s only one more assignment and then you’re free. Maybe I can even help you coax Gordo into doing some magic if you’re fast.” Gordo, Mark’s mate, lets out a snort at the other end of the table.

“You’ll have to be _really_ fast, because I leave for the shop in twenty minutes.” Joe never solved a maths problem so fast before. 

-

He whispers, “I will make you a monster just like me,” in Joe’s ear and there are black shadows curling at the monster’s feet. They reach for Joe, ready to make him a dark, heartless thing that rips and tears and kills without remorse. 

He wakes up screaming and has to blink away the image of his family ripped to pieces in big puddles of their own blood. His mother holds him close and tells him it will be okay, that he’s safe, but all he can think of is his hands coated in her blood. 

-

Joe loves his mom and his dad and Mark, but sometimes, _sometimes_ , only having the adults around makes his skin crawl. Carter and Kelly are at school all day and Joe wants nothing more than to join them, to be around other children again, to make some new friends.

Joe is lonely and it doesn’t go unnoticed. His mom ruffles his hair and pulls him into a hug, and says, “You will be twelve soon enough. Just be patient for a few more months.” 

Joe’s mom knows, because of course she does. She knows _everything_. 

\- 

It _hurts_. 

Joe turns twelve and has his first change and it _hurts_. 

Everything inside him is shifting and realigning and it hurts, hurts, hurts. 

His family is far away. Pinpricks in the night as Joe’s wolf fights for control. 

Their voices fade in and out of focus. 

But he feels them.

He just has to reach out and-

He doesn’t know if he can do this.

He doesn’t know if he can shift.

He doesn’t know if he can find his way back if he does.  
He’s going to let them all down. 

He’ll never be good enough. 

The monster is whispering in his ear and he’s losing control and then-

then he is wolf

he runs

they don’t expect him to

he runs and runs and runs

away

away from _packpackpack_

away from _sonlovebrotherpack_

he is, he is, he is 

here, here, here

the smell  
there is the smell

fading, fading, always fading

his, his, _his_

He manages to shake them off long enough to get into the blue house with the white trim, crashing through the door in a cloud of splinters and nails. 

They find him fifteen minutes later in an upstairs bedroom, his eyes flashing beta orange and alpha red and then he’s Joe again. 

He’s overwhelmed, because this is so much more than he ever expected it to be. But he is okay, he is _grounded_ thanks to this house, this room. It’s not quite a tether, but for now it’s enough, especially with his family right _there_. 

He shifts back to his wolf not long after, much more in control. His family greets him with _sonlovebrotherpack_ and guides him back to the clearing. 

He chases his brothers through the forest, hunts with his dad for rabbits and for the first time in a very long time he feels hope. 

-

The first day of school is in no way what he expected.

He'd picked Carter and Kelly up from school before with his parents, but this is so much more than the fleeting moments he experienced before.

It’s loud and crowded and the smells, god, the _smells_. Carter notices the way Joe crinkles up his nose and lets out a barking laugh. 

He and Kelly are walking Joe to his first class. English, by some guy called mister Peterson. Kelly likes him, Carter hates him and after one class with him Joe is on his oldest brother's side.

The English teacher tries to get Joe to speak and then after some nervous giggles and awkward glances from the rest of the class makes him sit down. 

Everyone stares at him, curiously whispering things like, _"Why won't he speak?"_ and _"Is he really a Bennett brother? He's so small."_ to each other. All of that only gets worse when Mister Peterson calls for Joe to read.

The second class, US history, goes better. Apparently this teacher had gotten the memo that Joe doesn’t speak as she gives him a bright smile, calls him honey and tells him to sit wherever he pleases without expecting an answer.

The whole day is a mix of good and bad, nice and awful. Someone tries to trip him in the hallways and gets gut punched by Kelly, while Carter warns everyone in the vicinity not to mess with their little brother or they would have to deal with them. 

During his third class, chemistry, a boy who introduces himself as Frankie sits down next to him and starts talking about random things, without ever expecting Joe to reply. It’s nice, and he sits down next to him during the next class (Maths), too.

Carter and Kelly are there to guide him from one class to the next every time. He's thankful, because everyone else seems to know where to go.

It’s so overwhelming with so many new things to smell, see, hear. Most disorientating however is how there's just emptiness when he looks at other people. When he looks or reaches for his brothers he knows what they're feeling and thinking, but everyone else is just... _blank_.

By the time his dad picks them up Joe is exhausted to the bone. He falls asleep as soon as the car comes alive, his head on Carter's shoulder.

-

It takes Joe about a month to adjust and not constantly get overwhelmed by all the things coming at him at any time of the day.

Carter and Kelly help and so does Frankie, although it puzzles Joe a little why this kid with the goofy glasses and wavy black hair keeps hanging around him. He likes him, though. They play hangman during boring classes, and Joe helps him solve any maths problems he can't work out.

He gets comfortable, and that's when it happens.

One moment he's washing his hands, the next he's shoved up the wall, an arm on his neck and he can't breathe but he's also not scared. The three guys crowding him laugh as he struggles to get enough air.

He doesn't hear what the guys are saying, instead focusing all his attention on not wolfing out, pulling on his bonds with Carter and Kelly and sending _helppackhelphelp help_.

It doesn't take them long to get to him. One moment Joe is struggling to breathe, the next the three guys are on the ground in a bloodied mess, Carter in their faces demanding their names.

The guys answer with profanities, but not for long. Two out of three give in and run, but the third needs some more convincing. Kelly shoves him up the wall and holds him up by his neck, before the guy finally murmurs his name between clenched teeth. Joe's brothers let him go after that.

All their attention is on Joe then. They check him all over for injuries, green relief flushing over them when they find none.

Kelly says, "Well done, Joe." and Carter ruffles his hair, and all Joe can think is _I could have handled myself_ , even if he knows it wouldn't have been smart.

The school tries to suspend Carter and Kelly, until Joe's dad and uncle start talking about pulling their donation for the school.

Everything is better after that.

-

Sometimes when he’s at school he swears he can smell the thing from the blue house with the white trim. It’s always fleeting, there and then gone, but it’s _there_. 

-

_Sonbrotherlovepack_

The words vibrate under his skin as he shifts.

Hands make way for paws, fur grows where there was none before

everything is pack

they run

they chase

they hunt

they are his

he is theirs

always always always

_theirs_

son

brother

love

_pack_

-

Humans don't seem to notice a lot, but they do notice there's something special about the Bennett brothers.

It has been almost six months since Joe first set foot in the halls, but nothing can stop the gossip that goes around.

They say, "I heard they're members of a gang."  
They say, "I heard the youngest one saw his dad kill a man and that's why he doesn't speak."  
They say, "I heard they're in the witness protection program, because the mob is after them."  
They say, "I heard the oldest two beat up three guys with nothing but their pinkies."

Every theory is more ridiculous than the last. It doesn't phase the Bennett brothers, though. They have each other. They are _pack_.

-

There are a thousand people in the crowd as Carter steps on stage to accept his diploma. 

Or at least, that’s what you’d think based off of the noise Joe’s family makes for their oldest son. In reality there are only around eighty odd people around. 

Carter grins brightly as his teacher hands him his diploma in a daze. When Carter catches Joe’s eye he winks and then in one fluid motion vaults off stage. 

Joe has never been so proud of him.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and tell me what you think or come yell at me on [tumblr](http://thelastlesbean.tumblr.com)


End file.
